"This is getting too vague," Zhao Xunan frowned, confusion knitting his brows. "Where are you from, child? Why did you come to Great Qin?"
"I'm from the Barren Marsh Kingdom. I came to Great Qin seeking fortune—to cure my illness," Xiao Nuo'er pouted, her voice trembling with sobs.
"The Imperial Preceptor said I was born without meridians. Without them, I can't practice cultivation, and my lifespan won't exceed thirteen years," she continued, her small hands clutching Zhao Ping'er's sleeve. "My father spent a fortune to hire a master from the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion in the mountains. He said the only chance to defy fate lies in Great Qin's capital, where the 'Three Phoenix Dead Sea' stirs. If I find that opportunity, my path to immortality will open!"
"So my grandmother brought me here… but when I woke up, she was gone. I want my grandmother!" Xiao Nuo'er's tears spilled, her voice breaking.
"…This is no small matter," Xiao Bo, a minor clerk from the Ministry of Works, gasped. Zhao Xunan, the craftsmen, and even the Li brothers all stiffened—except Zhao Ping'er.
The girl was busy feeding Xiao Nuo'er tender lamb ribs, occasionally tucking a strip into the girl's mouth. Though they'd just met, their bond felt warm.
"Old Xiao, this involves a foreign princess—and a renowned fiend kingdom. What do we do? Report to the court?" Zhao Xunan asked, troubled.
Xiao Bo scratched his head, thinking. After a long beat, he lowered his voice: "Master Zhao, best not report this."
Zhao Xunan's eyes narrowed. "Why?"
"This is the Barren Marsh Princess. By rights, her arrival in Great Qin is a state affair. That she came secretly means there's a reason they can't go through official channels."
"But Great Qin's secret guards aren't blind. If both sides are pretending not to see… why expose the unspoken agreement?"
Xiao Bo rarely spoke so bluntly. But after days of working with Zhao Xunan—a man of no rank yet boundless kindness—he felt safe to share his thoughts.
Zhao Xunan clasped his hands in thanks. It was rare for a lowly clerk to speak so frankly.
"Xiao Nuo'er, let me check your pulse."
The girl hesitated, glancing at Zhao Ping'er, who nodded. She extended a small, delicate wrist, muttering: "Father said men and women shouldn't touch. Even you, Master—only the wrist!"
"Ahem!" Xiao Bo coughed, fighting a laugh at the girl's prim caution.
Zhao Xunan's fingers brushed her wrist. True qi flowed in—but scattered instantly. No meridians.
"Master… is her illness grave?" Zhao Ping'er asked softly, her sharp eyes seeing Zhao Xunan's concern.
"Not… not grave," he lied, pressing harder.
Her pulse raced but lacked roots. A light touch could snuff it out. The Imperial Preceptor was right—Xiao Nuo'er wouldn't live past thirteen.
"Tell me more about the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion's prophecy," Zhao Xunan said.
Xiao Nuo'er whispered: "The master said the land to change my fate lies in Great Qin's capital. Where the Three Phoenix Dead Sea stirs… I'll survive."
As she spoke, her fingers tightened around Zhao Ping'er's. A strange warmth bloomed in her chest—familiar, like her father's embrace.
Zhao Xunan nodded, his mind racing. The Heavenly Secrets Pavilion rarely made definitive prophecies, but when they did…
The Li brothers' arrival, the princess's mysterious appearance, the mention of "Three Phoenix Dead Sea"—it all felt tangled with his own fate.
But what was missing?
"Master… why did you ask about my hairpins earlier?" Zhao Ping'er suddenly asked, tilting her head.
"…The boy's right. Too many look like a flower vendor. I took them off!" She glared at Li Qinglin, who shrank back, still sore from her earlier scolding.
"But you kept three," Zhao Xunan said.
Zhao Ping'er stroked her hairpins, smiling: "One Master carved from wood, one from the Opening Festival silver, and one gold with a jade inlaid Big Dipper. They're too pretty to remove!"
Three hairpins, all shaped like phoenixes. Zhao Xunan's eyes lit up.
"Three Phoenix Dead Sea stirs"—wood, silver, gold. The Big Dipper hairpin was the key.
Earlier, in the library, he'd read of an ancient cultivator—a stellar being whose body fused with the cosmos. Endless starlight poured into him, forging his bones into star-iron. He'd been doomed to perish young, but a mentor taught him to channel starlight as true qi, using the stars as his guide. He'd achieved the pinnacle of cultivation.
Xiao Nuo'er wasn't the same, but her body, forged by starlight instead of true qi, was similar. With the Compendium of Rare Herbs and his guidance… maybe he could adapt the method.
"Xiao Nuo'er, will you become a disciple of the Martial Arts Academy?" Zhao Xunan said firmly. "I can cure your illness."
The girl's eyes lit up. She glanced at Zhao Ping'er, then nodded fiercely.
Zhao Xunan grinned. Two prodigies—one a martial literati, the other a grandmaster—and a princess. This trio would make waves at the mid-term exams.
After lunch, Zhao Xunan had Xiao Li and Xiao Nuo'er spar. He wanted to gauge her strength.
To his shock, the ten-year-old princess tossed Xiao Li—a grandmaster—like a ragdoll with a single over-the-shoulder throw.
"Boom!"
Four-inch-thick bluestone cracked under the impact. Xiao Li spat blood, his face pale.
"…A body as small as yours, yet strength to topple a grandmaster? Another stellar being?" Zhao Xunan marveled.
That night, he began teaching Xiao Nuo'er the Starlight Sutra, a technique from that ancient mentor.
Young as she was, Xiao Nuo'er studied relentlessly. For three days and nights, they pored over the text in the library's second floor, igniting every star-meridian in her body.
On the third night, as the stars faded and dawn broke, Xiao Nuo'er's body blazed with silver light—not white, but star-bright.
Zhao Xunan smiled, relief washing over him. Three days—she'd rewritten her fate.
Xiao Nuo'er collapsed, sobbing, "Thank you, Master!"
Zhao Xunan started to comfort her, but she was already asleep.
Three days without rest—even an adult would falter. He tucked her in, then stepped outside, watching the rising sun.
A grandmaster, two prodigies… At the mid-term exams, they'd shock the world.
Five days later, the academy's renovations finished. Xiao Bo led the craftsmen away, and Zhao Xunan gave each a red envelope—gratitude, and a promise.
"For any injustice, come to me. I'll help if I can."
It was his first vow to so many. In two months, they'd become family.
After they left, Zhao Xunan closed the academy gates. The mid-term exams loomed—one month away.
On the 11th day of the Lotus Moon, midsummer heat hung thick. Melons ripened in the fields. The five gathered by a pavilion, feasting on melon and solving puzzles.
"Let's test your literary skills," Zhao Xunan said, pointing to the lake. "Write a poem titled Cold Melon, Pavilion, Lake."
The Li brothers groaned. As Green Snake Clan members, they cared only for combat. Poetry? A chore.
Xiao Nuo'er, though, smiled. Raised as a princess, she'd been taught both sword and verse.
"Big Brother Li first."
Li Qingfeng blushed, sweating. Finally, he stammered:
"Under the pavilion, midsummer heat—
Devouring cold melons, sweet and neat.
Ducks glide on the lake, so spry—
Master's laughter fills the sky!"
"…Simple, but not bad. A little more depth," Zhao Xunan said, though his face was stiff.
Before he could elaborate, the courtyard gate exploded inward.
A carriage careened in, guarded by a dozen black-clad men.
"My thousand-year-old elm gate!" Zhao Xunan yelped, rushing to inspect. Only the latch was broken—he relaxed, then glared at the intruders.
The carriage stopped by the pavilion. A gaunt man in white stepped down, supported by a servant. He smiled at Xiao Nuo'er:
"Xiao Nuo'er, two years apart—you've grown so much."
"Brother?!" Xiao Nuo'er shrieked, shrinking behind Zhao Ping'er, trembling.
"I left you, but you vanished. I searched for you tirelessly," the man said, dabbing his mouth with a handkerchief. "Kill my sister's companions. Cleanse this place."
"Understood!"
Four black-clad men unsheathed daggers and charged.
Li Qingfeng and Li Qinglin—unarmed but unyielding—rushed forward. Twin elbow strikes sent two flying. They spun, avoiding blades, then slammed their bone clubs into the men's skulls.
"Crunch!"
Brains and bone splattered.
The gaunt man's eyes widened. These two teens—twelve, thirteen—fought like demons.
"Attack!" he ordered.
The remaining guards charged. The Li brothers drew steel bone clubs, meeting the attack head-on.
"Brother… why kill me?" Xiao Nuo'er cried.
The man smiled. "I was stripped of my title. Now, only you can inherit the Barren Marsh throne. Kill you, and I—your disgraced brother—become the last blood of the Si Kong clan. The family will crown me emperor. For the throne… no family ties."